- eamonn@easylifecover.ie
Protect your home and loved ones with the right mortgage cover simple, affordable, and sorted in minutes.
Mortgage Protection Insurance (MPI) ensures your mortgage is paid off if you pass away before it is fully repaid so your family never has to worry about losing the home you’ve worked so hard for.
In Ireland, it is a legal requirement for most mortgage holders. It’s designed to protect your family from financial hardship and the very real risk of home repossession at the worst possible time.
“Most lenders will not approve your mortgage without a Mortgage Protection policy in place. Our advisors make sure you get the right cover at the best price fast.”
Work with your adviser to choose when payments start after an inability to work begins: 8, 13, 26, or 52 weeks.
Choose how long your claim payments will last: 2 years, 5 years, or until your benefit is due to end.
You can claim multiple times under this benefit, provided you return to work between claims.
You do not have to make your bill cover payments while actively receiving a claim payout (though payments for other benefits must continue). Regular payments resume when your claim ends.
Depending on the term you choose, your claim could end before you return to work. For example, on a two-year term, payouts stop after two continuous years, even if you are still unable to work.
If you are unemployed for more than one month, you cannot claim for bill cover. You can cancel at this point. If you return to work within six months, you can restart without extra medical details.
Receiving a bill cover claim may affect your entitlement to state benefits, such as Jobseeker’s Allowance or Disability Allowance. Speak to your financial adviser for more information.
If you take out bill cover on your plan, please note that your children are not covered under this specific benefit.
Three critical reasons every mortgage holder in Ireland needs the right cover in place.
If you pass away before your mortgage is fully repaid, the policy pays a lump sum to clear the remaining balance so your family owns the home outright.
Your loved ones are shielded from inheriting a large mortgage debt, removing enormous financial pressure during an already devastating time.
Without cover, missed mortgage repayments could lead to repossession. MPI ensures your family’s home remains safe and secure no matter what.
Pays a tax-free lump sum if you are diagnosed with one of 48 specified serious conditions giving your family vital financial breathing space during the most difficult of times.
When purchasing your home, your lender requires mortgage protection as a condition of approving your loan.
Your MPI policy is set up to match your mortgage amount and term it decreases in line with your outstanding balance.
The policy pays out a lump sum directly to clear the remaining mortgage, so your family keeps the home free and clear.
In certain circumstances, you may qualify for an exemption. Here’s when it may not apply to you.
If the property is an investment or rental, not your primary residence, MPI may not be legally required.
If the property is an investment or rental, not your primary residence, MPI may not be legally required.
If the property is an investment or rental, not your primary residence, MPI may not be legally required.
If the property is an investment or rental, not your primary residence, MPI may not be legally required.
Free, no-obligation advice from independent experts. Compare Ireland’s leading providers.
MPI is paid concurrently with mortgage repayments, and as such it is paid for the same duration, i.e. MPI will be paid for 25 years if the mortgage is for 25 years. There are a few types of MPI, which range in suitability and cost for different types of borrowers. Make sure to consider the details of these when shopping around for mortgage protection insurance quotes. Here is a run-down of the most popular MPI.
A reducing-term mortgage protection policy is fixed to run only as long as the outstanding mortgage term, but the life cover and the amount is designed to reduce alongside the reducing loan too. Simply put, the amount paid upon death of the borrower decreases with the amount owed. This means that only the mortgage debt will be repaid, leaving nothing extra for dependants.
There are more expensive but comprehensive options, such as a level-term mortgage protection policy. A level-term policy is more expensive and is usually taken out on an interest-only or endowment mortgage where the original amount is still owed until the end of the mortgage.
The main advantage of a level-term policy over a reducing-term policy is that the amount paid upon death of the borrower is the amount for which you were initially insured, even if the amount owed on the mortgage is reduced. This provides extra financial security for dependants in the event of the untimely death of a borrower before a mortgage is repaid.
An optional extra to consider when reviewing mortgage protection insurance is serious illness cover, which can be added to your MPI. This means your mortgage will be cleared if you die, or if you are diagnosed with a serious illness that is covered by your policy. Your premium will be considerably higher if you choose to add serious illness cover to your policy. Make sure to compare a mortgage protection quote with serious illness cover to a mortgage protection quote without serious illness cover and evaluate what is the best option for you and your family.
You are not required to take MPI from your mortgage lender, although some people will as it can be more convenient to pay your insurance with your mortgage repayments. However, it has its drawbacks. For instance, if a borrower switches their mortgage, their initial MPI policy would be cancelled by the original mortgage lender with whom they took out the insurance policy. This would mean starting over with a new MPI policy, which could result in higher premiums, especially if the borrower is older or is ill. It is imperative to check whether you will qualify for a new MPI policy before switching mortgages.
If you are topping up your mortgage, you will need insurance to cover the top-up amount for mortgage protection in Ireland. In some cases, it may be cheaper to keep the original policy and buy a separate one for the top-up mortgage rather than adding the top-up amount to the original policy. It is best to shop around in this instance. You may not have the option to buy separate insurance cover, so always check first, particularly if you fall within any of the above risk factors.
If you pay your mortgage before term, you usually have two options:
If you continue to pay, some benefit will be paid to your dependants in the event of your death. However, some mortgage lenders may not give you this option and cancel the policy as soon as the mortgage is repaid.
Speak with our advisors and find the right cover for your needs simple, fast, and tailored to you.
